A Most Unlikely Drifter
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: I wander. Drifting aimlessly from place to place, time to time, never lingering too long. What choice do I have? I can't control myself; not anymore. Every step could be an earthquake, every breath, a hurricane. I break everything I touch. Make it stop. Please. I'll do whatever it takes. Even if it means...war. Please. Narutoxharem! Vote via review! Reviews are fuel! Picks up fast.
1. A Most Unlikely Drifter

**A/N: (EDIT) No reviews so far. That...that makes me really sad...**

** So! We were having some site problems for a while there, but everything seems to be back in order for now. Also...**

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**FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!**

**Kindly suspend your disbelief and enjoy the story.**

**We're going with the two day rule from now on; if people don't like this, it'll be gone. Simple as that. I'm tired of getting shredded for trying to entertain people.**

**Everyone was a-bawling about Okita Alter and Naruto not having a proper end. ****So here, here's the actual Drifter tale. ****Folks will either love this, or hate it because there are REVELATIONS here that will shock people. So yeah, its probably going to be love or hate. ****A Naruto that wanders the worlds seeking a purpose for himself.**

**I hope its the former.**

**This Naruto isn't good or bad, but he's fully prepared to kickstart his own Holy Grail War in an attempt to find purpose in life. ****You also get to see him fight Beast, because that was the plan from the beginning. Speaking of Beast, some clarification will be given towards him and his brief bouts of sanity in this chapter. ****You may hate Beast, but I think you're going to LIKE Drifter...**

**...I hope?  
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**As ever, this will be gone in_ two days_ if folks don't like it.**

**I do hope that you like it. Reviews mean a lot.**

**Moon Cancer is next, then we can continue...**

**...A Most Unlikely Holy Grail War.**

**As ever, I don't own jack.**

**Enjoy the references.**

**HAPPY SUMMER!**

_"I feel like I live in a world of cardboard."_

_~Superman._

**A Most Unlikely Drifter**

_I wander._

_Drifting aimlessly from place to place, time to time, never staying too long. __What choice do I have? I can't control myself; not anymore. Every step could be an earthquake, every breath, a hurricane. I break things all the time now. Some days are better than others. Most...aren't. When you're a god, how do you hold back? How do you keep yourself from breaking...everything? Is there a manual? Can I read it?_

_And I have only myself to blame._

_At the end of it all, they tried to unseal the Tailed Beasts from me. It wasn't safe, they said. Too risky. I might become Kaguya. I agreed. I let them try. It didn't go well. I blacked out. When I woke up they were dead. Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, all of them. One misunderstanding lead to another. They all began to fear me. Reject me. They had every right to. My chakra was an unstable mess. Still is. I wanted to protect the world, the people I cared for, yet my presence only endangered them._

_Because I couldn't control my power, I accidentally killed my friends._

_Because I killed them, the rest turned on me. __I killed them too. I didn't mean to._

_I just wanted them to stop. __I only made it worse. __I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt anyone._

_When others tried to hunt me, I ran. I hid my face. And, eventually, I found a way to run away from my world altogether._

_I left my world behind, to prosper or burn, I no longer know. There's nothing left for me back there. No one. __I feel...not dead, not yet but numb. _

_So I walk._

_I've seen others like me out there, past the fabric of my world, each living in their own. I envy them, but I can't bring myself to hurt them. Instead I observe from afar. Why? Because they're me. No matter how different some of them might be-when did I adopt Kaguya?!-I feel like I'm living vicariously through them. Let them live their lives. I simply watch. Crave. Envy. Sometimes their memories bleed over into my own. I see faces that I've never met, find myself longing to meet those I've never known._

_Through time, through space, I keep walking._

_I mean them no harm, wish them no ill will. But I have to keep my distance. If I tried to take their place, experience what they're experiencing...it might end...poorly. Maybe that's unhealthy. __I try to do the right thing. I try to protect people. Helping in small ways. Subtle ways. I can't interfere, never directly-for fear of breaking everything-but I like to think that I'm helping behind the scenes. I'm...helping, aren't I? Please tell me I'm helping. __One of them got close, once. They had an ax, but they didn't want to hurt me, they wanted to help me. I fled before he could persuade me._

_Try as I might I can't bring myself to stop walking, to stop peering into these other worlds._

_Sometimes, when I see someone suffer, I feel alive. What's wrong with me? I shouldn't feel that way. __I eat, I drink, I go through the motions, but I feel...so very little these days. And yet the one time I watched "myself" lose everything, I almost caught myself smiling. Good. A small, nasty part of me thought. Now__ he knows what it feels like. __Maybe that makes me...what did Jiraiya call it? A voyeur? No. A sadist?_

_Oh, god. I'm becoming a fucking sadist aren't I?_

_Seems I can still feel shame about things, at least._

_That...That's a good sign, right? Isn't it? Should it be?_

_At times I'm able to slip in and out without being noticed. To simply slip between realms and observe. They're all so busy with their lives or their wars, none of them pay any attention to me. Would you notice your own shadow? Of course not. Least of all when said shadow hides from you. I watch, for a time and help, if I can. When I can. __Other times...not so much. My adventures are many, few of them happy. I can't bring myself to get close to anyone, not anymore. So I keep moving. Watching._

_I stole a pure Grail._

_It was that or allow it to fall into the hands of a madman._

_I watched a child be born._

_Never really gave much thought to it, but the others have cut kids._

_I glimpsed a Beast from afar._

_Nope. Nope nope nope. Not going anywhere near that impostor. I refuse!_

_I have seen the human order rise and fall._

_And I swear I'll never answer the call, never get myself involved in that ghastly business._

_I even fought the King himself; consumed him when he tried to kill me. I didn't want to do that, either. It was an act of instinct on my part, a desperate move born of survival. To have his "ego" become a part of mine. My body absorbed him; his mind, his treasury, all of it. Another reason to stay away from everyone. I couldn't control my body before, but now my mind's even more of a prison. Once I might have been able to manage, but now? Its worse. _

_So much...worse. _

_Do you know what its like to have a voice in your head? A presence influencing your every thought? An arrogant idiot who taints everything he touches? To both love and hate the world in so equal a measure than you can no longer tell who you truly are between tehm? To wake up one day and find that you slaughtered a city in your sleep? That is what it means to have HIM in my head. And so I stay away. Watching-sometimes helping-but always at a distance._

_I want to live for myself again._

_I want to fix this. I want to undo it all._

_I want to be...me. Not it. Not him. Me. Naruto._

_But first...I have to know. I have to see. What I might become._

_I have to know the answer myself, lest I inadvertently become a monster._

* * *

_(...0o0o0...)_

* * *

_A new Servant had just been born._

Drifter tilted his head and considered it from afar, stretching out not with his eyes, but his sixth sense as he felt the prana spike high into the night well beyond the city limits. At such distant proximity he couldn't ascertain who had summoned this new iteration of himself into the world, but he welcomed his unknowing brother all the same. They burned bright in his mind's eye like a solar flare, a new legend only just now summoned into the world. More memories-not his own bled in, and he caught himself smiling.

Perched atop a distant skyscraper he opened his eyes and tucked dirty knees into his chest as he stood, exposing a worn red jacket thrown over a brown leather cuirass and trousers. Dirty boots scuffed against the gritty roof as he jolted

A lone golden gauntlet was his sole concession to vanity

"So who summoned you this time, brother?" he wondered aloud. "Illya? Rin? Kirei? Or was it that rotten geezer this time around?"

The wind snatched up his words and flung them away.

He'd seen one of those realities before . It hadn't ended well for the old man or anyone else involved; because that iteration slew the rotten worm on the spot. That had proven one of his more pleasant visits. No matter how many times he saw him fall, it was always well worth it to watch that rotten creature shrivel up and die. He'd barely glimpsed a pair of wide eyes before that classless Servant slew him in turn. Good for them. Dying was an unpleasant experience even at the best of times, but death never seemed to stick long these days.

The Reaper simply didn't-or couldn't?-claim his soul.

Whenever his perished, his corporeal body would cease to exist for a time. Days. Weeks. Months once, after getting hit by Excalibur. But eventually, he'd always return. His body would reform around the soul, flesh followed the physical, and the voices would inevitably return soon thereafter. It was like waking up from a long dream, one he wished he could simply cling

And so he began again, turning his senses outward once more.

This one certainly felt like an Archer. Not the tiny one playing with the magical girls and their cards in a world far from here. This was a true marksman, graceful and deadly and terrifying to behold. Little rough around the edges perhaps, but that signature was all too familiar. Grinning and alive, so full of life and energy, and so _very_ aware of him. Gah. Must've been a sensor in life. Gods, he wasn't going anywhere near that. Not in a million years. Archers were the worst. You thought you knew how to deal with them then they tore you a new one. Archers were right tricksy bastards.

Gilgamesh had proven that much.

Still, he always liked this part of his people-watching, but this was his favorite part.

Soon he would have to leave, lest he break something, but for now he could watch, even if it pained him-

**"Life's not fair, is it, my little friend?" **a new voice cut through his thoughts as something appeared behind him, their words sliding painfully like a knife through his thoughts. **"While some are born to feast, others spend their lives in the dark begging for scraps. Doesn't that bother you?"**

Drifter spun as a clawed hand settled on his shoulder, swatting it aside.

His hand swept through empty shadows.

And the darkness laughed at him.

Blue eyes widened.

"What in the...?"

**"Aren't you tired of it by now, Drifter?"** the shadows sneered, swirling away to form a face. **"Always watching, always longing, yet never allowing yourself to possess what you crave. That could be you down there. A God among men, a ruler amidst peasants, a lion among sheep. You could have whatever you wanted."**

"The King must remain impartial." he muttered halfheartedly.

**"King?"** laughter greeted his declaration. **"And what are you king of, brother? Ashes?" **If only he knew.

"I'm no brother of yours, whatever you claim to be." Against his better judgement, he turned to face the abyss. "Leave. Before I make you."

**"Ahahaha,"** it tittered right back at him, **"But you are! You're more a brother to me than any of the rest; because you know what it means to _suffer."_**

After so many years wandering the realms, Naruto wasn't as startled by the sneering visage staring back at him as he could have been, nor that form that stepped out of the shadows; what alarmed him was the sheer _hate _lurking in those red eyes. It looked like him. Walked like him. Talked like him. But it was most assuredly _not _him. The scent was wrong; reeking of blood and brimstone and...death. It could never be him. Despite its humble attire and that familiar black-orange jumpsuit, he still jerked back at the sight of it as much as that tattered black cloak he wore. He had an inkling, a suspicion, but he daren't give voice to it.

"Who are you?"

That ghastly grin grew.

**"I'm you, but...stronger."**

Incorrect. For all his preening, this one was weaker.

...that was a bad pun and you should feel bad." Drifter deadpanned.

The Stranger grinned. **"Fair enough. I suppose that one was a bit of a stretch, wasn't it?"**

"Yes and, I don't have time for this." he spat, turning his back on them. "Go away, whoever you are. I'm not in the mood."

**"Now, now,"** in his peripherals the Stranger raised its hands, exposing clawed fingers, **"I come in peace. I'm not even here for you."**

A low growl built in the back of Drifter's throat as he palmed a knife from his sleeve. That strange, niggling dread was shrieking at him now. "You'll leave in pieces, then."

**"No,"** his doppelganger smiled as he crept closer, **"I don't think I will. Even if you kill me here, you gain nothing. I'm one of many now. Strike me down, and the rest grow stronger."**

Drifter felt a muscle jump in his jaw, the cold chill racing down his spin burgeoned by a cutting wind. All the sounds of the city below seemed to grow dim and muted, all the colors of the world briefly fading away as the entirety of his sharpened focus fell upon his pursuer. He couldn't deny it any more. This wasn't a Servant. Or some wayward wandering Master. Nor even that great-grinning-god whom he'd glimpsed from afar. Though this thing wore the guise of a man, Naruto knew it to be nothing more than an illusion; a petty facade adopted by a creature obsessed with vanity and vengeance.

That appearance was...too twisted. His very presence clawed at his mind like nails on a chalkboard.

"Beast." the word was a curse.

**"Aha. There it is again."** a jagged finger jabbed into his chest as those red-black eyes loomed down at him. **"That's the look I've come to know and love. You despise me. Just like the rest. But you know what its like, don't you? To be hated. Loathed. Reviled. We're the same. You're like me."** it tilted his head, considering him anew. **"Or you will be, soon enough. You're not far gone enough yet. You still need a good hard push I'd say."**

"Some beast you are." Drifter batted the hand away and stepped back. "You talk."

**"I always feel a bit sane after a good meal."** came the instant riposte. **"You should try it sometime. It'll do you a world of good."**

Drifter felt his stomach drop out from under him. "Meal...?" he croaked out. His mind conjured up something horrible and he recoiled from it instinctively.

**"Some shadow-slinging girl that pretended to our name."** his counterpart dismissed his concerns with a snort as though they were simply discussing the weather. **"She called herself Temptress. A little blind girl who claimed to be the savior of her world. Can you believe her? The gall. ****Can you tempt a mountain? Can you seduce the sea?" **he snorted to show what he thought of _that._** "She wanted to save everyone through words, not violence; through wouldn't even fight me...at first. Fat load of good that pacifism did her in the end."**

**He was prepared to ignore him, to simply leave.**

**Then the bastard twisted the knife.**

**"Would you believe she actually caught the interest of the King of Heroes?"** The words sounded innocent enough, but they stopped him cold all the same.** "He was quite devoted to protecting his little Master before I killed her. "**

The world stopped.

Naruto counted the seconds. One. Two. Three.

For a moment he almost believed nothing would happen-

_'MONGREL!'_

Then pain exploded in the back of his skull, nearly causing him to double over. Gilgamesh stirred inside him, spurred by the insult; a furious golden dragon bearing its fangs at the wold. A vicious coil of wrath, of anger, of _hatred _an emotion so intense that Naruto nearly choked on it. This emotion-these feelings!-did not stem from him, and he was powerless to stop them. All the while Beast regarded him with quiet curiosity. Did he know? It was possible. Unlikely, but possible. Was he trying to goad him into attacking, or...?"

Naruto couldn't finish that thought.

He choked down those emotions and inhaled deeply.

"How did you kill her?" he forced the words through gritted teeth.

**"As I always do. She's a part of me now."** Again came that same, snarky grin as he leaned against a nearby railing. **"I made her an offer."** clawed fingers twirled lazily around a stray breeze.** "She refused. Called me mad." **that horned head cocked to one side, contemplating him quietly.** I wonder if you'd be interested."**

"You want to _destroy_ everything."

That horned head bobbed.** "You're right. I do."**

"That includes me." he clicked his tongue. "So no, thank you."

**"It doesn't have to be that way." **Beast crooned hypnotically, still lounging against the rail like a sly serpent. "**Join me, and from the ashes of this world we'll make a better one. Just think of it." **A lone hand extended itself toward him, as though he were reaching out to an old friend, not a potential rival. **"A world where no one will suffer, where no one will die, where no one will cry. I can bring back all you lost, if you only kneel. With the two of us working together, nothing would stand in our way." **

Naruto bridled at the speech. "I won't be your puppet-

**"I don't _want _a puppet." **Beast jerked upright and illusion flickered-for a moment, just a moment-allowing him to glimpsed something ghastly, his true face beneath.** "I've had that lesson beaten into me already. I don't need anymore mindless soldiers than I alread have. I want a lieutenant. Someone who can think when I can't. Someone to lead my forces."**

He must've mistook his silence for acceptance, or consideration at least, for he began to circle him like a shark.

**"What do you owe them, brother?"** there it was again, the faint implication of kinship. **"They don't care about you. You're nothing to them; less than nothing. But I care." **a heavy, weighted hand settled on his right shoulder as he came to halt, forcing him to be still. **"****Be my second in this and I'll grant your heart's desire."**

Naruto felt his lip curl treacherously.

A lie, bald-faced as they came and thrice as slippery.

If the Beast-Demon more like-possessed such power he would have used it already. He would have found a way to use his loved ones against him. There would never BE a Beast. That he hadn't done so only revealed him as the fraud he was. Naruto knew the secret of resurrection, the true, pure version of it, and he dare not use it. Doing so required plucking a certain pair of eyes out of someone's head; an act he wasn't terribly keen upon doing. Bringing his loved ones back wasn't the problem. Keeping them alive _was. _Keeping them alive-keeping himself in control of his base desires-stood as the crux of the matter.

These days, he couldn't trust his body, much less the mind within.

What good were these false words, then?

They were...so much air on the wind.

A bitter smile curled at his mouth.

Nothing indeed. Far less.

He laughed then, and the illusion-alongside the temptation that had been gnawing at him-fell away like brittle glass.

"Spare me the fucking talk no jutsu." he snarled. "If Saver himself couldn't sway me, you certainly won't."

It wasn't the answer Beast had hoped for; his smile dropped into a flat line of displeasure.

**"So be it. You're hardly worthy my concern, then."** Serrated teeth curled in a cruel rictus of a grin as he pushed his way past, rudely elbowing Drifter aside to claim that fine vantage point for himself.** "If you're that terrified of your owner power, too afraid to actually use it, then I have no use for you."**

Drifter recoiled as if he'd been stung. "What?"

**"Run." **a clawed hand waved dismissively as it owner turned their attention to the city below.** "****Run away, coward, and never stand before me again****."**

Naruto hesitated.

Turned, eyeing the night sky.

Yes, this wasn't his fight. He had no need to stay. Why involve himself at all? He'd never fought something like this before. He certainly didn't want to be assimilated by this...thing. That sounded worse than death. So why risk himself at all? What did he possibly have to gain from this? If he tried to fight this thing he might win...or he might lose. Even if he won what then? This _was _Beast to be sure, but by his own admission he numbered in the near hundreds, now. Theoretically killing this one might prevent others from coming to this singularity, this realm, this timeline. But it would draw the rest after _him_ instead.

His right hand clenched into a fist at his side.

_Coward._

**"Wait."**

He paused, caught just before he could leap away.

**"You've got a Grail on you."** Beast sounded almost incredulous as he spun to face him. **"A pure one at that. I can smell it. Give it here and we'll call things even."**

Without thinking, Naruto clutched a jacket pocket-and the scroll within-close to his chest.

"No."

**"Now, now,"** those crimson eyes narrowed, **"Don't be difficult. You don't really have a say in this. Hand it over, or I'll take it."**

He slapped the hand away when he reached for his jacket.

"I said no!"

That thin semblance of sanity shattered and Beast pounced on him, no doubt intending to take what he wanted by force. Instead, Drifter backhanded him. A crude, uncontrolled strike that cracked across the madman's face, but one that sent him sprawling into the city below with a yowl, cratering the asphalt where he struck. A low, furious growl rose up to greet him.

He was only just climbing out of said crater when a shrieking Rasenshuriken blazed down on him.

_THWOOM._

It was a very nice explosion; at least Naruto thought so. So much light and sound and _wind,_ all of it tearing into the Beast like a hurricane. All the while it screamed. Facade or not, that was definitely pain he heard in its voice. His brow creased as he waited for any sign of deception, but now, the blast brought down an empty office building on the creature's back, burying it before it could assume its true form and rise from the ashes. He had actually managed to hurt it. Surprising.

Golden eyes faded back to blue, but he hesitated.

He could've followed up on this attack, could've finished him while he had the chance. But he couldn't. Horror and stubborn greed paralyzed him in that crucial moment. He could not give him this. He absolutely must NOT let him have this. Something horrible would happen if he did. He needed this. With enough power even in such a tiny form, it might be able to gran his wish, someday.

He could've left, too.

Taken this opportunity to flee.

That would've been the smart play, the proper play.

Left this world to its fate, to the monster who had come for it. Them. Him. He had no business here. So what if a world died? So long as he lived, he could continue watching. What was one world among the many? What was the sacrifice of one but for the few? Surely these kids could handle him. Right? Right?

But a thorn of guilt pricked his conscience and he found himself leaping into the fire and the flames after him.

_'Fool._ a familiar, gloating voice mocked him._ 'You already know the answer to that, don't you?'_

"Shut up, goldie."

Alighting carefully a yard away, he clapped his hands together and formed a seal, ready to react the moment the stone stirred.

Only then did he realize just how many _people _were down here.

Few had been caught by the initial landing and blast, but now others were stopping to look at him, pointing-some were even taking out their cell phones!-as the fire began to spread. Here he glimpsed a young couple all but gawping at him. There he saw a mother clutching her young daughter's hand. Despite all the fear and anger blazing bright in his chest, an icy core of dread formed in his gut. Too many people. Too close. He felt time slow to a crawl around him, his senses tingling with the impending knowledge of what was about to happen.

"Get out of here!" he flung an arm out as the rubble began to shift behind him. "Now!"

The world imploded in a wall of flame and his hands swept apart, abandoning the seal in favor of a barrier. There was no time for thought, only action. He thrust it not between him and the beast, but further back, before the fleeing civilians. Unfortunately this left him exposed to the horror currently bearing down on him. Terribly, horribly exposed.

He'd never been burned before. Slashed, cut, and nearly torn apart of course, but actually _burned?_ Never.

It proved...an enlightening experience, and not one he was keen to relive in this age or the next.

Spitting smoke, he was forced to drop the barrier, helpless to do anything but watch as the fires spread to the rest of the city. Regardless, he found he soon had more pressing concerns than his own burning body or the population of Fuyuki, no matter how much time he might've bout them.

Because the Beast-False! Pretender! Usurper!-was getting back up.

A great, towering shape burst from the burning rubble with a roar that would've made Godzilla himself proud, overturning cars, toppling buildings, and sending civilians shrieking for cover. Drifter jerked back at the sight of it; what little remained of his humanity crying out in muted horror. What the devil was that thing? It looked like it might've been a fox...once. Before it started sprouting horns and scales and wings. Ghastly thing. Just the sight of it was enough to turn his stomach. He couldn't bear to look at it over-long; the very sight of it threatened to bring on a pounding migraine.

And the creature laughed at him.

**"A little fight in ya, eh?"** a massive arm rose, crudely wiping away a thin line of blood from its gaping maw. **"I like that."**

"Earth Style," Naruto choked out, groaning as his scorched body struggled to recover, "Dark Swamp."

**"Oh, c'mon! That's just petty!"**

Black mud sucked at the creature's feet to drag it down and for a moment, just a moment, he thought it might hold by itself. He didn't trust it. Blue eyed burned gold once more his disheveled hair lengthened and cracked out like a whip, strands of jagged gold snaring the Beast's many limbs. A twist of his neck jerked them back and _pulled _nearly wrenching the abomination off its feet. Despite the frantic hammering of his heart and his own battered body, he almost smiled-

_Until the damn thing tore through both jutsu as if they weren't even there._

Hot fetid breath beat against the back of Naruto's neck as he glimpsed a terrible shadow, gleaming towering teeth closing around him. He'd never seen it move, but he felt it now, snapping into view behind him. In his mind's eye he saw it; those gaping jaws looming wide to swallow him whole; him and all the power he commanded. Taking that power for himself.

**"LETS HAVE A TASTE!"**

In the darkest corner of his fractured psyche, his other half observed this brief moment of weakness and scowled. He felt his body shift, as the switch flipped. Wavered. Change. Golden armor snapped into existence over his dirty leather armor and something awoke. He struggled against it for half a heartbeat-why am I fighting?-before the rest of him tripped on the slippery slope of his own mind and he gave in. Surrendered. Completely and utterly. His emotions were well and truly stunted by the ages, but not the Other.

And it-he!-was absolutely furious.

In his mind's eye, golden hands closed around his fragile psyche and a dozen golden portals blossomed at the blond's back even as those jaws closed on him. There was no hesitation. No fear. Only rage. The towering ire of a king undisputed, respected, saluted, and moreover...

...feared.

Before Beast could comprehend this new threat each portal quivered and fired a volley of warped weapons down his twisted throat.

The result was nothing short of spectacular; if only because it was also absolutely ghastly.

With his back yet turned, Naruto never saw the damage.

But he certainly heard the scream.

He _felt _the world tremble as the Beast tumbled away, choking on a maw full of steel. Felt his pain, and sneered at it. It should have killed him. Though he was no _true_ Beast, he'd

**"How?!"** the word was a snarl as he scraped himself off the street. **"You shouldn't able to do that! Only-**

"Weren't you listening?" as the Beast looked on a small, unusual smile bloomed on those whiskered cheeks. "I said I the King must remain distant. Not a king, not some king, but _the _King."

Was that a glimmer of fear in his eyes just now? **"You didn't."**

The grin grew. "I am. And I did."

He stood slowly, carefully.

"It was him or me. We nearly killed each other." a blackened hand restored itself as he looked on with quiet scorn. "I took him. I took it all." that glassy smile turned bitter as blue eyes began to shimmer red, his unruly golden mane perfecting itself at his touch as he swept an armored hand through it, pushing it upright. "He's as much a part of me as I am him, now. And now you dare compare us? To the likes of you? A crude creature crawling in the mud? A lowly stray?" the faintest note of genuine _anger _sang through his words. "You dare?"

_"Know your place, filthy mongrel!"_

And the world screamed.

The volley that followed made the last look paltry by comparison; he willed it and the dozens-hundreds-of shimmering ripples swelled into the air behind him. Part of him squawked at the idea of collateral damage, but the "other" seized the reins from him and rained hell down upon the city. Gilgamesh cared not for the lives of the city or those inhabiting it; he was wrath and fury and rage, held at bay for so long, but no longer. Against one such as this he could not be coaxed into silence, could not be restrained. He saw the Beast and, impossibly, knew him for what he'd done.

Now the King had his due.

**"What the hell is this?! Goldie never hurt me this much before!"**

Raucous laughter greeted him. "We were never this _angry_ before, idiot! Now dance!"

A fresh storm greeted him in response; axes and blades and spears of peerless make came crashing down like silver rain. Keen and precise, targeting his limbs. In a heartbeat he found himself skewered, massive limbs all but trapped-however briefly-against the bloodied road. With a groan, he tore himself free only to find himself trapped again, his body bound by brittle golden chains. This time, it wasn't able to escape.

**"What does that even mean?!"**

An armored arm rose and gestured.

"It means we are one. We are the King. _God._ Now bow."

Beast lunged at him, tails tearing great chunks of asphalt from the street.

In response, a giant sword erupted through his chest in great, gory relief and he staggered.

"I feel like I live in a world made of cardboard," clenched knuckles barreled into the side of the demon's fractured face as he fought to free himself, snapping his skull backwards. "Always taking constant care not to break something. Or someone." another roundhouse fractured his jaw and split the sky. "Never allowing myself to lose control even for a moment or someone could die."

A heel kick took the Beast low in what served as its stomach, hurling it away.

"But this time is different."

Twin fists slammed down on the creature's head just as the chains released, flattening it against a skyscraper.

"You can take it, can't you big guy?"

Fingers formed claws and lashed out, tearing a bloody trench through his chest as the building came down around them, briefly burying the blond beneath. Beast jerked upright quickly, thrashing to extricate himself from this coffin of stone, to no avail. By the time he'd righted his cumbersome bulk, his smaller opponent was already there, already prepared for him. Standing amidst the rubble, arms folded before his golden chest.

"What we have here is a rare opportunity for me to finally cut loose. And show you-the world!-how powerful I really am."

As he spoke, his right hand rose over his shoulder and dipped into a lone portal, smaller than the others.

Slowly, almost reverently, he plucked a new sword from its depths.

Beast went terribly still at the sight of it.

Its abnormal shape resembled more a blunt weapon than any actual sword; in part because, in that it resembled more of a cylindrical drill-shaped pillar made. Three independently rotating segments, each engraved with crimson cuneiform lettering spun slowly in alternating directions like querns, the middle segment spinning clockwise and the top and bottom segments spinning counterclockwise. He couldn't bear to look at it; because it felt wrong, a noble weapon taken and bent toward a singular purpose, one finite goal.

Death.

Drifter-no, not Drifter, Beast realized-smiled then, and it was a cruel thing indeed.

"That's right," the whiskered warrior purred as the cylinders began to spin, clutching the hand-guard in a deathgrip. "You never saw this. You always killed us before we could use it. Not this time."

_Us?_

Dread rose like a pit to swallow all sense.

"Begone from our sight, you lowly fake." baleful red eyes regarded him as though he were little more than a lowly ant. "Your existence offends us! Go back to the shadow!"

In that terrible, awful moment, the being that called itself Beast-false!-experienced a terrible moment of startling clarity. It saw those eyes. Heard that voice, a strange union of two voices, two beings that should not be, and something in its rotten soul quailed. It watched those whiskered cheeks curling in a furious sneer, and this piece of it, this fragment, knew its end was nigh.

'I've blundered.' it realized. In attacking him, it had unwittingly woken a dragon.

Said dragon was wholly, utterly furious with him.

It was more akin to divine possession; in this moment he didn't face a broken man, nor a vessel, nor even the King of Heroes himself, but some strange unholy union of the two. Who could say where one ended and the other began? Two minds in one body and both shouted at the copy until he was left dumb and deafened. Red light gathered and swelled around them, pulsing in time to some unholy heartbeat as the cylinders sparked to roaring, righteous life. The sword rose, its wrath touching the clouds in a single ponderous arc. Someone screamed in the distance and belatedly, Beast realized it was him.

_"Enuma Elish."_

They brought the blade down.

And he knew only the bitter taste of oblivion.

**A/N: ****We're going with the two day rule from now on; if people don't like this, it'll be gone. Simple as that. I'm tired of getting shredded for trying to entertain people.**

**Furthermore, Beast isn't dead. **

**As he said, he's multiplied himself already.**

**"This" one is surely dead, but others are out there.**

**Confused? Just keep reading this note, all will be explained.**

**Also, a quick FYI for you all, EA's description was pulled from the wiki, so there.**

**Alright, so lets explain the Gilgamesh bit! ****Lemme put it this way in as blunt a manner as possible:**

**Drifter!Naruto met a version of Gil in a different timeline. Gil, being Gil, tried to kill him. As this Naruto is a LITERAL DEITY ON A COSMIC SCALE, he absorbed Gil and took his power, treasury and all. ****But an ego like that doesn't go quietly, and Gilgamesh influences his thoughts to this day.**** Now, before you get angry! This can happen. Heracles as an Archer LITERALLY STEALS NOBLE PHANTASMS. Kiara does something on an even more gruesome scale. That woman EATS Servants and uses their abilities. I could list more examples, but those familiar with Fate know the tale all too well.**

**Now, onto the rest.**

**Funny thing there, Beast.**

**Sometimes when you push someone, they push back.**

**Felt good to bring this back from the brink, from the 'ol dustbin.**

**To unleash myself, as it were. Feels like I went beyond my limits to write this, even when sick. Now you know the truth. Beast is a (False) Beast. He briefly regains sanity by killing, and has begun to split his self and power across worlds. Clearly that was a mistake seeing as Drifter just eradicated one. But Drifter!Naruto is in danger-as in he has the potential-of becoming a real Beast due to his love for the world. The actual genuine article. Whether that's a good or bad thing...well. We've seen Beasts do good...and bad.**

**As ever, this will be gone in_ two days_ if folks don't like it.**

**I do hope that you like it. Reviews mean a lot.**

**They spur me, inspire me, lift me up.**

**The lack of them hurts, ya know?**

**So here, have Best Girl back.**

**(Preview)**

_...this world will do."_

_After a moment's hesitation, Drifter went to work._

_His current Grail was incomplete._

_It could Summon Servants certainly, even activate without a Lesser Grail, but it could not grant a wish. Not the one he needed._

_But a war would gather all he needed._

_Perhaps then he might have an answer at last._

* * *

_"MASTER!"_

_Okita slammed into him like a hurricane._

_"I knew it, I knew, I knew it!" she babbled happily into his shoulder._

* * *

_"Now, then. Make me feel alive."_

* * *

_"Why are we here?"_

_The figure on the throne hummed softly at the Servants below._

_"You are here to fight. You can have my Grail if you win. Lets see what comes of it."_

_**Hope ya liked it! R&R! =D**_


	2. A Most Unlikely Creation (Interlude)

**A/N: *EDIT***

**Remember. This is an alternate universe in which**** Drifter!Naruto is aware of his reincarnation and the fact that he died once.**

**Chapter Three of "A Most Unlikely Collection" holds all the answers you need.**

**I'm doing the best I can here with daily updates.**

**A Most Unlikely Sage got lambasted and well, that didn't sit too well with me.**

**And now it begins.**

**I wouldn't call Drifter!Naruto the true villain...but he's dangerously close. Someone who can literally break worlds if he isn't careful. Worse, with Gilgamesh influencing him, he has access to weapons and artifacts not seen since the dawn of time. Including EA as we saw in the last chapter. Its a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde scenario, if Jekyll wanted to stay away from people while Hyde wanted to burn them all to cinders and start over.**

**And now the two of them decided to start a Holy Grail War of their own with something unimaginable as the prize.**

**Someone better help the Servants, because Drifter's here and he's fresh out of mercy.**

**Kindly suspend your disbelief and enjoy the story.**

**Yes, this is an interlude. Sorry if its short.**

**As ever, I don't own jack.**

**Enjoy the references.**

**Sorry if its short!**

_"You tell me to be normal. To live an average life. I cannot. I already tried. My eyes see the world as a garden one moment; a wasteland the next. I both love it, and I hate it. I AM SICK OF IT! Sick of this endless cycle! Of being able to see but never to have! Never to hold! I! TRIED! And I died for it! But I came back as this! I remember it! All of it! All of the smiles! All of their deaths! I remember her! But I remember him, too! Not a minute goes by when he isn't here, isn't in my head, isn't influencing me! There's no other way for this to end!_

_Don't you understand?! I'm not your Beast. I beat him. I broke him._

_No. You lot will fight, or you will die. __Those are your choices._

_Now make your decision...mongrels."_

_~Drifter._

**A Most Unlikely Creation (Interlude)**

_He set foot in paradise._

Golden gilded boots trod upon hallowed ground, paying the long blades of grass little more attention than one would an ant underfoot.

Naruto grimaced at the sight of it; this thriving world full of life and light and sunshine, cloudless blue skies, a land full of rolling green hills and open plains as far as the eye could see. Even the air was cleaner here, free from civilization and all the taint it carried. The sole blot on it all was a smattering of villages in the distance and the ruins of a castle to the north. Civilization. Mankind's blight on this world. His mouth curled in disgust at the sight. Primitive in this country perhaps, but the sight of it irked him nonetheless.

Even in this era, there were mages.

Before he was done, this world would likely be little more a dying husk clinging to life. He could never reign himself that long-either he would lose control again or Gilgamesh would lay waste to everything in a fit of pique over some slight or another-before it all fell apart. Worse, he could barely stir himself enough to care. Why _should_ that concern him? He wasn't here to save anyone. He was here to find the answers he'd sought, solutions to the burning question he'd been chasing since the moment he reincarnated in this form.

...this world will do."

He supposed Ireland was a good a place as any to start a war.

In this era, this singularity, this reality, the corrupted Holy Grail had been destroyed long ago by one Shirou Emiya. That ghastly thin had never been recreated since. Perhaps it would be, given enough time and resources. and endless politicking .That didn't concern him in the least. He couldn't be bothered to deal with the Association of any of its mad machinations, least of all the Church.

If any interlopers tried to interfere, they'd have a bad time.

His current Grail was incomplete after all.

It could Summon Servants certainly, even activate without a Lesser Grail, but it could not grant a wish. Not the one he needed. It required massive amounts of energy to achieve such a feat-least of all the one he required of it-and he knew of only one way to gather that energy so quickly. With so few souls to devour in this era, he hardly deemed it worth the effort of hunting them down. No, he reminded himself. He wasn't here to eradicate the weak and raise the strong-though part of him longed to do just that-his was a nobler purpose.

Yes, a war would gather all he needed.

Not an average war but a true one. A Grand Holy Grail War.

Contestants across the realms, Masters and Servants alike, mighty and powerful.

Perhaps then he might have an answer at last. Who knew? If he was lucky, one of them might able to kill him.

Ah, but that was just a pipe dream; the faint hope of some silence semblance of sanity still lurking in the darkened corridors of his mind.

First and foremost, Drifter made himself a Master in this war to come; then beyond that, to make him its Administrator. Easy enough given that he owned the Holy Grail itself. He'd bent it to his will long ago; it responded happily when he reached for it. He'd had it for so long now that he was almost reluctant to let it go; to free it from his grasp and grant its true purpose once more. For though this Grail was pure and its inner core it was inclined to listen to him, it ultimately had a task to perform. So he told it to search for strong fighters, for brilliant scholars and warriors, as well as Masters to command them.

Pain pulsed in his palm as Command Spells in the shape of a crimson crown bloomed upon the back of his right hand.

"Well. How ironic." Naruto mused softly, gazing at them in the waning light of the setting sun. "They almost remind me of something...

_'Stop dawdling and get to work!'_ Gilgamesh's voice cracked at him like a whip in the shared space of their mind._ 'You've kept us waiting long enough!'_

"Fine, fine, don't get your trousers in a twist."

**"WHAT WAS THAT?!"_  
_**

_"Nothing!"_

Rolling his eyes, Naruto reluctantly did as he was bade; carefully removing the shrunken Holy Grail from his coat to lay it upon the ground. No sooner had it made contact with the soil than it swelled back to its true towering size; a great looming creation visible for miles in either direction. It certainly was impressive in its own right; the shell he crafted to protect it, even moreso. A looming dark coffin pulsing with bleak light to darken the skies above. Anyone fool enough to attempt to breach those defenses would be eradicated body and soul.

Satisfied with these temporary protections, the blond began to raise his castle.

First came _his_ throne.

Holding its unseemly image in his mind's true eye, Naruto drew the Throne forth from the vault and wrenched it deep into the loamy soil; this great, gaudy golden thing padded with crimson cushions upon which he could rest comfortably. Armor clanking with every step, he turned and all but threw himself into its waiting embrace. Satisfied that they were sitting in their rightful place above all others and all creation, Gilgamesh ceased his snarling and begrudgingly lent him aid when he asked for help.

After a moment's hesitation, Drifter went to work.

A dozen seething portals bloomed and fired as one, great golden bursts of light gouging out the ground in a volley of roaring thunder. Once. Twice. Thrice. Three such volleys flattened the ground down to the bedrock and a fourth scoured the remains clean, making way for the foundations. There. The merest snap of his fingers created an army of one thousand clones, each of whom knew their assigned tasks from the moment of their birth, as it were. Wordlessly they went to work. They knew what he desired, and would not cease until the task was finished. As one, they began to shape the earth, forging stone and steel out of the bedrock.

Nearly done now.

With that task assigned, Drifter dipped a hand into a golden portal and withdrew a sheaf of parchment from the endless depths of his vault, followed by an ink quill. After a moment's hesitation he began to write. The message was a simple one; one that vanished just as quickly as he willed it away from this world. Another eloquent missive scrawled upon paper after paper, one after the other, dozens in all. Each sent out into worlds both beyond this one and the next. He even sent out invitations into this one, curious to see who might respond. These weren't so much messages as they were challenges; an invitation to some, a welcome to others, and a lure to the rest. He knew threats wouldn't work-thus far-no, he had to entice them.

He could start a Grail War, but he needed Masters. No, more than that. He needed Servants.

If they came from this world, that was fine. If he had to kidnap a few of his "brothers" to jumpstart things, so be it.

Some would ignore him, of course.

A few even had the power to outright ignore him.

Others would answer the call all too quickly, eager for a wish.

With that, the hook was baited. All that remained was to see what he would catch.

Now he had but to wait.

In the meantime, there other matters to attend to; matters that he couldn't simply shake off in his apathy.

At such close proximity to the Greater Grail Naruto found he didn't need a summoning circle at all. Good. tracing one was an inconvenience when the Grail was already primed; ready and willing to access the Throne of Heroes on his command. Nor need he bother with a catalyst. He knew who would answer him already. He'd known for quite some time now. His suspicions proved correct. A quick chant, the merest of murmurings and the Grail responded. He felt the faintest tug on his life-force and pulled himself upright in the throne, curious to see if his prayer would be answered.

It was.

They didn't so much appear as they did arrive; a shining star of brilliant light arriving in sullen silence.

He took in a tan face with bright golden eyes and long white hair. He recognized her. She looked just as the same now as she had back then. Clad in a red-black dress bearing a startling similarity to a kimono and a long European style coat with long stockings as jet black as her smile. She was death personified, a peerless killer who would cut anything at his command. A pang of pity pricked a this heart. Did she not remember him from their last life together? He felt the contract settle between the two of them, but still, she wouldn't look at him. In stoic silence she turned at last, her dead expression without so much as a hint of life or emotion...

_"Naruto?!"_

...until she saw his face.

Okita slammed into him like a living typhoon, throwing her arms around his shoulders and latching onto him for dear life. Caught between the startled Servant and his unyielding throne, Drfiter could only fling up his arms in surprise. Even then the young Alter Ego didn't release him; on the contrary she clung to him all the more, uncaring that she'd all but landed in his lap. Her scent flooded his senses when he breathed in, drawing another poignant pang of remembrance. How long had it been since he'd seen her? Held her like this?

"I knew it, I knew, I knew it!" she babbled tearfully into his shoulder. "I _knew_ that wish worked! I _knew_ you were alive, somewhere!"

Words failed him, his tongue turning leaden and dead in his mouth. "You...remember me?

"Of course I do! Don't you _**ever** _scare me like that again!"

Before he could so much as think to finish that sentence she reared back and slapped him. For a moment, Naruto froze, his world snapping to the side from the sheer force of her blow. He actually felt a took creak loose. Even Gilgamesh had fallen silent in the face of this sudden upswing of emotion. She looked fit to slap him again if he said something stupid. Thankfully, he never got the chance. Then those tan hands seized him by the face and she crushed her mouth to his. Slowly, carefully, he dared to wrap his arms around her and draw her close, deepening the kiss. Okita didn't resist; on the contrary, she only cuddled closer.

All at once, she pulled away and leaned back.

"I fought in so many wars, looking for you." she pinched his cheek, as though to make certain he was still there. "Where were you?

Once again, the words lodged in his throat when he tried to tell her the truth. No. He daren't tell her his plan. Not here. Not yet. She'd hate him for it. He wanted to cherish this tiny moment, hold onto it before everything burned around them. Life seldom let his fate be a happy one. He wanted to believe this time would be different. That his plan would work, that this would succeed. And yet...and yet...the fear persisted, the weight of sins both past and present crawling up his back like ghastly little spiders, each one sinking their teeth into his hopes and dreams.

He couldn't do it. He couldn't tell her. It was all he could do just to control himself.

Gilgamesh scoffed in his mind. _'Fool. That guilt, that kindness, is why you fail.'_

Rather than answer, Naruto buried his head into her chest.

Okita sputtered softly. "Are you...alright?"

_No,_ he decided. _I'm not. Not at all._

Even if this world burned.

_At least he had her._

**A/N: *laughs***

** Get ready for insanity.**

** I'll say it right now, you've been warned.**

**So, which Servants would you like to see in this tale?**

**Because Drifter!Naruto ain't the only Naruto here. Confused? Don't worry; just**** think of this as a "movie" of sorts. It has some bearing on the timeline I've been creating, but it doesn't wholly count as a canon. Nevertheless! Events here are terribly real. Deaths count. This also gives me a chance to introduce some of the cast that I've been keeping on the back-burner for a bit now. Trust me, you aren't prepared for what's coming; you're gonna laugh, cry, and so much more.**

**Think of this as an iteration of Fate Strange Fake blended with Apocrypha.**

**Drifter!Naruto went and started his own Holy Grail War. This is something I've been working on for a long time.**

**You can think of this as a singularity, if you like; an event that diverged from space and time until it eventually became its own timeline.**

**Naruto's greatest enemy in this story is himself; his love for the world and the hatred that Gilgamesh has for those who would corrupt it. As things stand now he's already balancing on a knife's edge; with his near-uncontrollable power he could be a devastating force for darkness if someone gave him a push. Conversely, if he just took one step and learned to appreciate life and the second chance he's been given in this incarnation...well.**

**...he just might be one of the greatest heroes of all. Who knows? This could swing either way.**

**Reviews are love. Reviews are life. Reviews keep me alive.**

**Despite the trolls howling for my head these days.**

**They spur me, inspire me, lift me up.**

**The lack of them hurts, ya know?**

**GET READY FOR MADNESS!**

**(Preview)**

_"SO YOU'VE COME, CHALDEA!"_

* * *

_"Welcome, my brothers! Thank you for accepting my invitation. Fame and glory await-_

_Until one of his other selves walked right up and slugged him in the face._

_"Who the hell are you?" a hand seized him by the scruff of the neck._

_A dozen golden portals bloomed at Drifter's back._

**_"You shouldn't have done that..._**

* * *

_"You can help the others, you know. They're still out there. Fighting."_

_"Why should I?"_

* * *

_"What do you hope to accomplish here?"_

_"Something? Nothing?" Drifter reclined upon his throne. "I don't know."_

**Hope ya liked it! R&R! =D**


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